The ultimate goal of the POWER Initiative is to advance innovative economy-building strategies that continue on even after the grant funding ends. West Virginia POWER grantees share about the lessons learned as they moved into the mid-point and close-out phases of their POWER projects; tips for project pivots and course changes; and how they have built long-term sustainability into their programs.
Marjorie Cooke joined Advantage Valley in January 2019 in the role of Director of Marketing & Communications and is responsible for promoting the economic development activities of the regional organization that represents 9 West Virginia Counties. She supports business attraction, retention, and entrepreneurial growth efforts by coordinating FASTER WV entrepreneurship webinars, executing regional B2B supply chain events, and managing digital marketing and media relations for the organization. Prior to joining Advantage Valley, Marjorie worked in a variety of roles for various local non-profits including Charleston Renaissance, the YMCA, and the West Virginia Youth Symphony, which she managed for ten years. Marjorie finds great satisfaction in using her skills in program management, marketing and communication, fundraising, grant writing, event planning, and social media/digital marketing to help build a stronger economy in West Virginia. She resides in Charleston with her husband and two golden retrievers. Her two children are presently in college.
ARC POWER Project: Fostering Advantages for Start Ups & Entrepreneurial Resurgence in WV (FASTER WV)
Project Resources:
Dr. Gene Coulson is the CEO of EntreEd, the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. He has over 40 years in k-12 education and retired from the WV Department of Education as Executive Director of Career and Technical Innovation. He has headed EntreEd for almost 8 years. EntreEd is headquartered in Charleston and has received 2 POWER grants designed to integrate entrepreneurship education into K-12 schools in seven Appalachian states, partnering with 11 community colleges and regional education service agencies.
ARC POWER Project: Fostering Self ESTEAM in Appalachia’s Emerging Workforce
Joseph Howard is the CEO of the West Virginia Forest Products Cooperative. Joe founded the West Virginia Forest Products Cooperative with the desire to empower the community and region by providing education and jobs. His background in electrical and civil engineering paved the way for the renewal of a family tradition in woodworking and the future of WV hardwoods.
ARC POWER Project: WV Forest Products Cooperative
Monica Miller, EDFP is President of M. Miller Development Services LLC, a woman owned business specializing in community economic development services for non-profit organizations, units of government, for-profit businesses and higher education institutions. Work includes regional and community planning and assessments, project management, facilitation, and coaching services. For over 20 years she managed multiple Community Development programs for the West Virginia Development Office most notably Main Street West Virginia, the Neighborhood Investment Tax Credit Program, and Appalachian Regional Commission. She is chair emerita of the Board of Advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, founding chair of the National Main Street Coordinating Programs Executive Committee, and she currently serves on the boards of Advantage Valley, a regional economic development agency, and the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia. Clients include WVU Bureau for Business and Economic Research, National Main Street Center, Philanthropy WV, WV Community Development Hub along with various communities and development organizations. Monica is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute of the University if Oklahoma and is certified by the National Development Council as an Economic Development Finance Professional.
Judy Moore has been the executive director of the WV Hive since November 2017. As the Hive executive director, Judy focuses on establishing partnerships and alliances that provide increased access to resources for businesses and entrepreneurs. She works with her team of business advisors, support network, and funders to bring about more effective and efficient means through which regional entrepreneurs can operate successful establishments. Before joining the WV Hive she was an Assistant Director at West Virginia University’s National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium. Judy has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications. Judy has also served as the Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator of numerous projects and grants and assisted in the development of numerous training and workshop materials, authored and co-authored many articles for industry newsletters and publications, and spoken at numerous conferences and workshops. Judy is also the managing director of the County Roads Angel Network (CRAN), administered by the NRGRDA through the Hive. The WV Hive was established through an ARC POWER grant and is currently a program partner of the ARC-funded Communities of Healing grant.
Derek Scarbro serves the Marshall University Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (RCBI) as its Business Development Lead and Deputy Director. In this role, he manages several state and federal grants and works directly with manufacturers, colleges, and government agencies on economic and workforce development projects across the state and region. RCBI assists entrepreneurs, inventors, small businesses, and large corporations across all sectors with prototype development, customized training, reverse engineering, quality assurance, and contracting opportunities. Fortunately, the projects and companies are so diverse that it is rarely a dull day. He has served in the public sphere his entire professional career. He’s worked in various West Virginia state government agencies, like the Governor’s Office, Treasurer’s Office, the Development Office, and led statewide non-profit organizations. Derek’s childhood was spent in Kanawha County and he has his bachelor’s degree from Marshall University in Political Science and International Affairs and is currently pursuing a master’s in leadership studies. His wife, Sara Payne, and daughter, Willa, live in Huntington. He enjoys skiing, camping, fishing, soccer, college football, and hiking.
ARC POWER Project: Appalachian Hatchery
Project Resources:
Our work is made possible thanks to incredible partnerships with other community development organizations across the state. From local economic development authorities (EDAs) to state level nonprofits working to uplift communities, all of our partners are crucial in making West Virginia the best it can possibly be by working together.
One partner that made our work truly profound this year is Coalfield Development. For years, Coalfield Development has worked to rebuild Appalachian communities by inspiring the courage to grow, activating the creativity to innovate, and cultivating communities of opportunity in central Appalachia.
We are proud to be part of Coalfield Development’s ACT Now Coalition, a broad network of organizations working hand-in-hand to uplift communities throughout Southern West Virginia. The ACT Now Coalition is infusing more than $63 million into programs to help communities using business development, building revitalization, and so much more.
The Hub is leading the Community and Business Resilience Initiative as part of the larger ACT Now Coalition to bring other partners with us to build up community and business resilience in the Coalition’s footprint.
“For decades, we’ve known the economy of southern West Virginia needs diversification. Some progress has been made on this goal, but not nearly enough,” Brandon Dennison, CEO of Coalfield Development, said about the ACT Now Coalition. “ACT Now constitutes a tangible opportunity to take a major leap forward in this generational challenge to become a vibrant, growing, diversified economy. In the wake of continued coal-job losses, nothing could be more important for our region.”
Our partnership with Coalfield Development is giving us a chance to take our work to new communities and to build upon our years of experience. Working alongside Coalfield Development in this large undertaking to bring $63.8 million to communities in Southern West Virginia is validation that the work happening to uplift West Virginia communities continues to grow.
The Hub works alongside communities across West Virginia coaching community teams as they come together to make transformative changes in their towns. In 2022, one town stands out for its continued work and unwavering commitment to making its community a place where people want to live, work, play, and visit.
Petersburg, located in Grant County at the northernmost point of the Mon Forest, is filled with community members who want to make their town a destination. Not only have businesses opened, and stayed open, the town has transformed the way they present to the world through rebranding and outdoor recreational development.
As part of the HubCAP IV program, Petersburg utilized its technical assistance to push forward with projects to bring transformative change to its community. Part of the work Petersburg worked towards was creating plans to pave a hike and bike trail that runs along the Petersburg dike. The proposed trail will run approximately three miles along the Petersburg dike and will include multiple entrances for walkers and bikers. The group secured a $25,000 grant from Senator Hamilton, which was matched locally by the City of Petersburg, the County Commission, and the Board of Education, each adding an equal share to bring the total to $50,000.
This year, Petersburg witnessed a major upgrade to one of the town’s most iconic and historic structures: The Hermitage Inn. The hotel, which dates back to 1841, has been renovated and once again welcomes guests to stay the night and have a nice dinner in the restaurant.
The Hermitage Inn is the first project initiated and completed as part of the Downtown Appalachia: Revitalizing Recreational Economies (DARRE) program. Seeing the old hotel returned to its majesty has been an incredible development for Petersburg adding another jewel to the downtown area.
Seeing Hub communities come together to create transformative change thrills us. Community members are the subject matter experts on what their towns need. Our commitment to accompaniment and walking alongside communities as they do the hard work guides us in our work. Celebrating their victories with them gives us a moment to uplift those making the work happen.
Since 2018, The Hub has been working diligently to bring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into our work. For years, the organization has been working internally to expand on one of our core values: “We believe diversity creates strength.”
We believe that now is a time when we must work from the ground up to commit to long-term efforts to build power through leadership development, programmatic strategies, and partnerships that commit to building power and advancing racial equity.
Looking back at our organizational history, we acknowledge that our work in rural communities with populations of less than 15,000 has not reached a diverse cross-section of people in West Virginia. Because of this, we began to ask, “Who isn’t here?” when examining our involvement in communities. The social unrest in 2020 led us to examine our role in white supremacy, ableism, classism, and gender discrimination, and the ways we have perpetuated unjust systems in our communities and across West Virginia.
Since 2020, our equity journey has included a staff racial equity learning series, making internal commitments to increasing our hiring and retainment of diverse staff including creating full-time Racial Equity Fellowship and VISTA positions, committing to increased coaching for rural communities of color across the state, and tackling the inherent challenges of advancing equity across the community development field within a highly rural, majority white state where Black and brown leadership has been historically marginalized and under-invested.
Our belief in the power of local people to see the value and the potential of their place, and of each other, is at the core of our belief in the potential we have to build power in West Virginia to advance racial equity, inclusion, and accessibility while disrupting systems that have historically excluded some communities.
We are committed to engaging in conversations to uplift communities and leaders of color to move from talk to action on why race matters in West Virginia as we work to disrupt these systems. We will support investment in Black-led organizations and rural Black leadership. And we are committed to driving public and private investments into these spaces, both organizational and geographic.
A core team led by Unleash Tygart, Inc participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Core teams led by Thundercloud, Inc. and the City of Huntington participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support community development projects located in Opportunity Zones.
A core team led by Crawford Holdings, LLC participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
A core team led by Woodlands Development Group also participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Watch their community documentary.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
It has been a year of abundant opportunities and partnerships across the state, and a year that has pushed all of us to work harder, faster, and smarter – together.
At The Hub, we say that “the work works when you put in the work.” This means that our approach to community-based development, and individual leadership development, really does transform local communities, especially when we all work together for the same goal, and stay committed to working together for the long haul.
In 2023, we continued to be amazed at the local leadership, drive and innovation we saw in communities throughout the state that are building locally-driven development from the ground up. Our network of community leaders, partners and opportunities keeps growing and shows no signs of slowing in 2024!
We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone for being part of the larger Hub community as we reflect on this year’s deep impact in West Virginia communities through our work. We are thrilled to have champions who believe in our mission that every community in West Virginia can achieve economic growth when they are supported with the tools and training they need to lead and spark positive change.
We believe strongly in the fact that putting in the work yourself to improve your neighborhood, your town, and our state is where true transformational change happens. With strategic partners and thought leaders like you in the work with us, we continue to be able to walk alongside community teams as they do the work to uplift their communities.
Thank you to all of the community teams and leaders who are brave enough to keep showing up every day, and putting in thousands of hours of volunteer time to support your communities and the entire state. Your determination in the face of difficult work and far-off successes is something to applaud yourself for – and to celebrate.
Whether you’re volunteering on the ground in your community, sharing our stories of hope with your friends and neighbors, or attending a virtual event with The Hub, your participation in our work is what keeps it going. Thank you for all your work and support this past year, and we are excited to continue in the work with you in 2024!
In Continued Accompaniment,